


Black Sandals x 1

by sandalboyBC



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Non-Consensual Tickling, Partial Mind Control, Tickling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2020-02-18 14:33:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18701536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandalboyBC/pseuds/sandalboyBC
Summary: Ardyn decides to revisit an old prank he pulled on his brother centuries ago, and Gladio is the new, unfortunate victim.





	1. Prologue

In a far corner of the imperial residence, in the heart of Gralia, capital of Niflheim, in a dusty bedroom that was seldom used, a well-worn fedora hung on a coat rack while its owner rifled through a large trunk at the foot of the bed. The closet had already been torn apart and piles of things were scattered everywhere. Not that the owner particularly minded the mess - he pretty much lived out of his car and only used this bedroom when staying to advise the emperor on some matter or another.

“Oh, gods, where did I put them?” Chancellor Ardyn Izunia said as he tossed even more things out of the trunk in every direction, almost comically. A faint cloud of dust filled the area - many of the things he was rifling through hadn’t been touched in years, if not centuries. Finally, he found what he was looking for. “There you are!” he said, voice suddenly joyful. From the trunk, Ardyn lifted up a well-worn pair of black leather sandals. Turning them over in his hands, he examined them to see what kind of shape they were in. Time had worn them down a bit, but it was nothing he couldn’t work with - he was only using them for research and review, anyway. They did smell, just a bit. “Oh really, Somnus, I expected better of you.” He then paused and laughed. “No I didn’t…” he laughed a bit more.

MANY YEARS AGO

“You don’t have to tell me again,” Somnus said, annoyed as his servants helped him dress for the evening’s banquet.

“If I thought you’d been listening, I’d stop,” his chief advisor and best friend told him, seated in a chair in the corner, paging through the plans for the evening.

“And if you were anyone else, I’d have you killed for a remark like that,” Somnus said as shrugged on the mantle that had been placed by his shoulders by one of the servants.

“Be that as it may,” the advisor continued, “it is of the utmost importance that you don’t laugh.”

“I’m not a child, you know.”

“No, you’re worse - you’re the prince. If you laugh during the performance, the rest of the court will think it’s okay to laugh. They probably will just in observance of you laughing. If you do that, you will insult our guests, and we’ll never broker another treaty like this one. We only just barely made this one happen, and frankly we would have been dead on that one too if it hadn’t been for your brother.”

“Okay, if I promise not to laugh, will you finally shut up?” Somnus asked, exasperated.

“It’s probably the best I’m going to get from you, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” Somnus said with a half-grin, half-sneer.

“Very well.”

“All right, I promise not to laugh, no matter how goofy their performance is.”

Unseen by all of them, Somnus’ brother Ardyn had snuck into the room unannounced and unseen. Though he did not yet have the twisted humor that would define him centuries later, he did still have a bit of a mischievous side to him that he indulged once in a while. This was one such time. He was already at the point where his continued healing of the starscourge had begun to infuse his body with daemonic energy, and he had now gained a rudimentary control over it, manipulating it to perform a few simple tasks - picking objects up and things like that. He now wanted to try something a little more ambitious and get a bit of payback against his brother, who had been nothing but a headache during the past two weeks, while they’d tried to broker a peace and commerce treaty with one of the neighboring countries. 

He had already spoken with the visiting representatives and warned them that Somnus was likely to make a fool of himself at some point, but that if he did, Ardyn would compensate them with a few of the things they had requested at the negotiating table that Somnus had refused to agree to. He was within his rights as half-ruler of the country, though Somnus had been nothing but a roadblock for him, driven by his usual pride and ambition. The visitors had agreed, finding Ardyn to be easily the more sensible of the two. 

Ardyn hadn’t wanted to be here, helping with the negotiations, but leaving this important task entirely up to Somnus could only spell disaster. As such, he’d returned to be part of the negotiations, much to Somnus’ annoyance. However, Somnus couldn’t tell him to leave, so the two had reluctantly worked together to broker the deal. Now the treaties were signed and all that was left was a final celebration to mark the occasion, including traditional performances from both countries.

While Somnus would have been very familiar with the local customs, those of the visiting country presented a potential problem, owing to the fact that one of their traditional ceremonies to mark momentous occasions involved some rather outlandish costumes. It was a very somber ceremony, meant to tell the history of the country and how it had survived a number of challenges and blights and remained steadfast. But with Somnus’ immaturity, it was feared by several that he might find the costumes more funny than serious - hence the desperate lecture from his adviser. Ardyn, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to put his brother in his place for once.

Glancing around the room to make sure that nobody was looking at him, Ardyn summoned up two small beads of daemonic power, and with a flick of his wrist, tossed them across the room to where Somnus’ black leather sandals were laying on the floor. The beads landed on the soles of the sandals - one on each - and quickly and silently spread themselves out into Somnus’ sweat-worn footprints. His work done, Ardyn vanished out the door, stifling a laugh as he thought of what was coming next.

The celebration was lavish, the food and wine were overflowing, and the mood was generally upbeat for everyone. The plates were eventually cleared away, and it was time for the evening’s entertainment. The hosts went first and put on a show that was familiar to most everyone gathered. They were greeted with polite applause at the end as they cleared the center of the room to allow the visitors to stage their performance. It was much more somber but told a beautiful story. As expected, some of the costumes for the more significant characters were on the garish side, complete with vivid masks with exaggerated expressions. 

When the first of the more outlandish characters appeared, Ardyn knew it was time to get started. He did his best to hide his smile as he moved his fingers slightly, accessing the daemonic energy that was currently strapped to Somnus’ bare feet via his sandals. At his command, it coalesced into one small, wiggling tendril under each of his feet, only the slightest bit of space separating it from his bare soles. The music swelled as the character made its appearance and swept across the room. The room was silent, watching the dance.

Ardyn struck. Inside Somnus’ sandals, the two tendrils reached up and poked right along Somnus’ arches. Just one time each. The effect was instantaneous. In the echoing silence, the only thing that could be heard was a sudden, stifled snort coming from one of the thrones. Everyone looked up to see what was going on, but Somnus, who had just felt a momentary surge of ticklish energy hit his feet, covered it well, making it look like a cough. Still somber, the ceremony continued. 

A few minutes later, two more characters joined in the pageantry - a pair of stylized twins that represented some of the visiting country’s old gods. Their masks had wild expressions and even more exaggerated features. The two moved through a deftly choreographed dance that seemed to be half dance and half battle, including several falls and trips for each. 

As one of them took a particularly dramatic dive on to the floor, Ardyn struck again, more directly this time. The single tendrils now split into four each - one still at the arch, one at the heel, and two under different toes. This time, the wiggling was a bit more prolonged, and Somnus couldn’t hold back letting out one short burst of laughter. He was clearly trying to hold it back, but he was too surprised by the tickling to get control of himself easily. He eventually did, but his adviser and several of his closest attendants all looked mortified. Ardyn pretended to react in the same disgust, but only to disguise the fact that he was the one causing the trouble. A couple of the courtiers half-coughed, half-laughed, just to see what the others would do. Overall, things remained serious. 

The awkward pause concluded and the ceremony went on, music swelling to a supposed finale. Ardyn couldn’t help but grin as he saw Somnus’ adviser looking absolutely mortified, fearful of what might happen. At the musical peak, one final dancer appeared - by far the wildest of the bunch. The depiction of a fabled hero, the character was awash with wildly bright colors and a mask that looked like it had stemmed from the mind of a madman, the dancer rampaged across the room, vanquishing its enemies and throwing shredded bits of parchment over the crowd like confetti. It was clearly meant to be joyous, but not silly.

Ardyn let loose, splitting the tendrils into hundreds of small, waggling tongues that attacked every bit of Somnus’ feet. Ardyn could even see a couple of the tongues from his seat a few feet away, but only because he knew what to look for. Somnus exploded in helpless laughter, unable to stem the waves of ticklish energy that were surging through his feet and entire body. His laughter was the only thing that could be heard in the room as everyone else was silent, which only served to amplify it more. After a few moments, a few of the lower courtiers started to join in - hesitantly at first, but then with more confidence as they found each other. The faux laughter spread like a contagion until all the court was laughing, though only two were laughing genuinely. One was the helpless Somnus, a laughing slave to the tickle sandals bound to his feet. The other was Ardyn, relishing his victory in humiliating his brother for once.

His mission complete, Ardyn summoned the daemonic energy back from his brother’s sandals and made it vanish. Finally, Somnus was able to get control of himself back, and he tried to resume an air of dignity. It didn’t work too well. The court settled down and seemed to be in better spirits, but the guests looked near-enraged. It was only by looking to Ardyn and his giving them an understanding nod that they didn’t storm out of the room.

When the ceremony had concluded and the guests had gone home, Ardyn stood by and eavesdropped while his brother was scolded by his adviser and a few others for alienating their newly-found ally. Somnus had tried to ignore them as well as he could and had pulled his sandals off, examining them for what had been tickling his feet. Finding nothing, he looked around in absolute confusion. His gaze briefly fell on Ardyn, but he quickly moved on, convinced that Ardyn would never do something like this. As much as they didn’t see eye to eye, Ardyn wasn’t capable of doing something like this.

The visiting party and Ardyn all left the next day - in different directions and at different times. Ardyn had snuck into his brother’s room once more to switch his sandals out with an identical pair and take the ones he’d used for the tickling prank with him, just to be sure no one accidentally found traces of daemonic residue on them, or in case he ever needed them again.

It was the most satisfied he’d felt in years, and he left the city with a twisted smile on his face.

****

Now, holding those same sandals in one hand, he reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a photograph. It showed a handsome, well-built young man with very dark brown hair and a long thing scar running down his face, directly across his left eye.

“Oh, Gladiolus. You have no idea how much trouble you’re in,” Ardyn said, smiling to himself as he set the sandals down next to another pair of much newer, more athletic-style sandals. After assessing the old sandals and gleaning what information he could from his first successful time pulling a stunt like this, he summoned up two spheres of daemonic energy - much larger and more refined than what he had used the previous time - and set about his work preparing the new sandals for their unsuspecting wearer.


	2. Chapter 2

As was frequently the case, it was Gladio that brought down the killing blow on the enemy. In the darkness of the cavern, with nothing more than their lapel lamps for light, it had been really hard to tell what the thing had actually looked like. All they knew is that it was big, mean, and in the way of them following up on the possible location of one of the Royal Arms. Now, as it breathed its last and fell over into a collapsed heap, beginning to dissolve into the air, the boys gathered in the center of the cavern, catching their breath.

“Can…can we never fight one…of those…again?” Prompto asked, between gasps.

“Yeah…” Noctis agreed, panting.

“You came through it all right,” Gladio said, barely winded at all.

“Can’t wait too long,” Ignis said, “for all we know, there might be others. Best for us to find the tomb, if it’s here, and be on our way.”

At the mention of the possibility of there being others, both Noctis and Prompto jumped to attention. “I’ll check over here,” Prompto said, heading towards the direction they’d come from.

“I’ll take over here,” Noctis said, moving to another side of the cavern. Gladio and Ignis laughed, shaking their heads, then started off on their own search.

Twenty minutes later, it was becoming clear to all of them that the info they’d had about there being a tomb down here was wrong. Ignis called them all back to the center so they could leave. As Noctis was turning to rejoin the group, a glint of light caught his eye. He turned toward it and approached approximately where it had been. In the darkness, it was hard to find it at first, but he eventually happened upon a treasure container - the kind that had been scattered all across the continent, usually containing useful items or equipment. Noctis opened it up and shone his light inside. No potions or anything like that, but there was something. Noctis reached in and lifted out a brand new-looking pair of black sandals. They had a single black strap that went over the front of the foot, and then a second strap that went around the ankle and clasped shut. Noctis held the sole of one of them up to his boot - a couple sizes too big. Still, he figured, they might fit Gladio, so he took them with him.

“Nothing?” Prompto asked as he joined the group?

“No tomb or Royal Arms, anyway,” Ignis said, sounding frustrated.

“Yeah, but it might not be a total loss,” Noctis said. “Gladio - catch!” Noctis tossed the sandals to the big guy, who caught them without any trouble. He turned them over in his hands, examining them.

“What’s with these?” Gladio asked.

“Found them in a container over there - look like they’re about your size, right?”

“Huh, you might be right. Look brand new.”

“Not the most practical thing, though,” Ignis said, adjusting his glasses.

“Well, it depends on the battle. Sometimes lighter footwear can give you some much-needed speed. And with the weather heating up, might be nice not to have the heavy boots…”

“Can we do this outside?!” Prompto interrupted, clearly worried about the possibility of having to fight another monstrosity. The group agreed and they made their way back above ground. Once they had exited the cave and made it back to the shady grove that they’d parked the Regalia near, they all were able to breathe a bit easier. Gladio sat down on a fallen log and started to pull his boots off, revealing a pair of sweat-soaked black socks. He peeled them off one at a time, revealing his massive bare feet. He set the socks on top of the boots and picked up one of the sandals. He unfastened it and slid his foot into it before securing the strap. He did the same with the other and then set both sandaled feet down on the ground. He wiggled his toes and felt the texture of the soft rubber soles underneath him. The straps were some sort of elastic mesh that secured the sandals without feeling over-tight.

“Perfect,” Gladio said, smiling, “thanks, Noct! Good find!”

“Sure,” Noctis said, stifling a yawn. “Just make sure you put the top down before he gets in the car, Iggy. Don’t want to smell Gladio’s feet all the way to the hotel.”

“Hey!” Gladio said with mock indignation. He stood up and picked up his boots and socks, carrying them with him back across the grass. The sandals felt great on his feet, and he let out a contented sigh. “These are nice,” Gladio said to no one in particular as the group got in to the car.

About twenty feet away, behind a particularly large tree, Ardyn stood and watched the car disappear into the distance.

“I’m glad you like them, Gladiolus. You’ll be wearing them for a while.”

********

When Gladio was finally awoken by the sudden unexpected coldness, it took him a few moments to unfog his brain and realize what was going on. Apparently, he had been sleepwalking. Actually, he sort of still was. As his consciousness cleared, Gladio realized that he was walking across a moonlit grassy field. And he couldn’t stop. He was still dressed in the t-shirt and gym shorts that he’d gone to bed in, and looking down, he saw that his new sandals were still on his feet. And somehow, they were forcing him to walk across this field. Gladio turned around and saw the hotel that he and the other boys had checked into back at sunset, as it became fainter and fainter in the distance.

Gladio tried to summon his strength and stop, but all he managed to do was slow himself down a bit. Whatever these sandals were doing, it was clear that they had some kind of hold on him that he wasn’t able to break. Then, just as soon as he’d realized the situation he was in, he stopped. Gladio tried moving in a few different directions and found that he was back in full control of his body. He turned around and tried to start walking back towards the hotel. After a few steps, though, he found himself turning around and walking back. Now realizing that the sandals were what was doing this to him, he sat down on the ground and tried to pull them off. Whether it was his tiredness or something else, he found that he couldn’t get them to cooperate - they held tight to his feet, and he couldn’t get them off, or even get a decent start at removing them. The sandals walked him back to the spot he’d first stopped at and stopped again.

Confused and frustrated, Gladio sat down on the ground for a moment, contemplating his situation. He felt in his pockets to see if he had his phone with him - he didn’t. Exasperated, he started to look up at the sky, and that’s when he started to feel something with his feet. It was just the faintest sensation at first, but it quickly grew and spread across his sandaled feet, eventually covering every inch of his soles. It felt warm at first, and then a little bit like when his arm fell asleep while he was reading in the car. But a few seconds more, and the sensation turned into a ticklish one. Gladio stifled a laugh at first, but the sensation increased further and further still, until he finally couldn’t take it anymore.

Out in this empty field, well over a mile away from anyone that might hear him, Gladio helplessly rolled on the ground, roaring with laughter as the magic sandals bound to his feet tickled him continuously and mercilessly. No matter what Gladio did, no matter which way he moved, he couldn’t escape the tickling sensations. He tried a few more times, with increasing levels of desperation, to try and pull the sandals off, but they held tight to his feet. What was worse, every time he tried to pull them off, the intensity of the tickling increased further, sending him into absolute hysterics. They seemed to know where his most sensitive spots were as well, and each time he tried to pull the sandals off, those areas were attacked with even more intense tickling. Gladio even tried talking to the sandals, begging them to stop, but nothing worked.

When the feeling finally subsided, Gladio lay on his back in the grass, staring up at the sky. He didn’t know how long he’d been out there, but the moon had moved to a completely different position in the sky. The monster battle earlier in the day hadn’t caused him to break much of a sweat, but this tickling had left him drenched and breathless. Too tired to move, Gladio let his eyes shut, intending for it to only be for a few moments, but he soon fell fast asleep.

*****

When Gladio stirred awake the next morning, he was back in the bed in the hotel room. It looked like the other guys were already awake and out doing something in the hotel. Gladio moved up to a sitting position and checked himself over. He had faint memories of something happening to him the previous night - something that involved him being tickled by his sandals while out in some field, away from everyone else, but the details beyond that were a little hazy. He did notice that the sandals were still on his feet, but the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that it had just been a dream. He must have forgotten to take them off when he laid down for bed last night. He got up from the bed, feeling a little drowsy, and started going through his morning routine as usual.

The rest of the day passed in a pretty ordinary way. They drove across the land, fought monsters, ate food, took pictures, and everything seemed to be fine. Gladio did notice that he was able to move a bit more quickly and nimbly without the heavy boots on his feet. The sandals were very comfortable in battle as well. Though his thoughts did bring up a momentary echo of a ticklish sensation on his feet, he was able to brush it off without any trouble.

That night, they camped out under the stars in a wetland area, and the dinner Ignis prepared was one of his finest yet. Full and tired and satisfied, the boys climbed into their tents and quickly fell asleep. Gladio even forgot to take off his sandals again before crawling into bed and turning out the lantern.

A couple hours later, Gladio was awoken once more by a cold gust of wind against his face. Once again, the sandals were taking him away from the group, and he couldn’t stop them. Once again, he stopped once he was a couple miles away, and though he feared what was coming, he had no way to stop it. Soon he was helplessly laughing on the ground, rolling around in the throes of tickle torture. He tried a couple times to pull the sandals off, but again, they only punished him by attacking his weakest points and forcing him to relent. Again, he fell unconscious right after the session ended - completely exhausted.

Again, he woke up in his tent, next to Ignis, feeling drowsy and foggy once more. He rolled himself up and went out to the camp stove to make coffee. He felt he was going to need it.

Another day, more monsters, more towns, and this time, a rental trailer available for them to sleep in. And a third time, Gladio awoke in the night to find the magic sandals taking him away for another night of tickle torture. He tried to stop them, but the compounded exhaustion he’d had from the last few days was catching up with him, and he felt himself becoming less and less able to resist.

This time, however, when the sandals finally brought Gladio to a stop, there was someone waiting for him. Though the light was fairly dim, there was no mistaking the hat.

“You,” Gladio said through gritted teeth. Gladio charged at Ardyn, who was lazily leaning against a tree. Ardyn, looking nonplussed, reached his hand out, fingers curled upward, and made a scratching motion. The moment he did, Gladio felt the same motion coming from his left sandal, tickling him and tripping him up. He stopped, holding a defensive position as Ardyn stopped.

“That’s better. Well, you’re certainly breaking in your new footwear, Gladiolus. Or maybe, I should say, they’re breaking you in nicely.”

“What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?” Gladio demanded.

“Mostly for fun - I did something like this to my brother once and got him in a whole mess of trouble. Thought it was time to bring the old gag back, with some improvements, of course. Plus you’ve been killing some of my best daemons and I’m afraid I just can’t have that at this point. Of course, I might be willing to free you from your sandals if you do something for me.”

“Like I’d do anything for you,” Gladio spat.

Ardyn sighed, “I thought as much. Oh well, have it your way.” He waved his arm and the tickling sensation started up in Gladio’s sandals once again - much stronger than itusually started. Gladio fell to the ground, helplessly laughing. He only barely caught a glimpse of Ardyn walking away.

“Let me know if you change your mind, Gladiolus!” Ardyn said as he vanished into the night, leaving the helpless Gladio to endure what ended up being a double-length session of merciless tickle torture. Gladio passed out before it ended.

******

Though it was very difficult to keep the secret about this from the others, Gladio summoned all his strength and tried to carry on with the group’s mission. However, as days turned into weeks without a single night that he was free from the spell of his sandals, Gladio soon felt real, legitimate exhaustion starting to overtake him. Though the tickling never ceased, it did change formats from night to night. Some nights were the same electric sensation he’d had the first few nights, other times it was like a thousand small wiggling tongues, and still others were more like a couple fingers each, skittering around and making targeted attacks. They were all maddening, each in their own way.

Though he hated to think of what Ardyn might want, Gladio was getting more and more desperate to escape from the hours of tickle torture that he was being subjected to. He decided that he’d at least hear Ardyn out.

True to form, he found the sandals walking him away from the campground that night, and as if he knew about Gladio’s decision to hear him out, Ardyn was there waiting for him.

“Evening, Gladiolus! Ready for some more laughs? I’ve got some new settings I’ve been wanting to try out.”

“The favor. What do you want?”

“Oho! Changed your mind, have you? I knew you’d come around to see things my…”

“Spit it out. What do you want?” Gladio yelled.

“All right, all right, calm down! Honestly, one would almost think you weren’t enjoying yourself. But then, I know better - I hear you laughing like a hyena every night. You must be having the time of your life!” Ardyn chuckled to himself. Gladio wanted to tear his head off, but he stood still. Ardyn reached into a satchel he was carrying and pulled a couple indistinct objects out. He tossed them to Gladio, who caught them easily enough. The moment they were in his hands, he knew exactly what they were.

Another pair of sandals. Just like his, and no doubt just as enchanted.

“Put those sandals on the feet of your friend Ignis, and I’ll let you out of yours.”

“No way!” Gladio said, refusing to even entertain the idea of forcing Iggy into the same tickle torture hell he was in. He was the Shield, and he’d find a way to get through this. He’d get the sandals off eventually and be free of this whole thing. And then he’d tear Ardyn to shreds.

“Give them here, Gladio,” a voice said from behind him, causing both he and Ardyn to look over. Ignis was standing ten feet away from the two of them.

“What are you doing here?” Gladio said, fear for his friend’s safety cutting through his voice.

“I was going to ask you the same, though it seems that you’re not exactly here by choice.”

“You followed me?”

“You thought I didn’t notice you disappearing every night?”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I figured you were just getting a little, ahem, personal time. But you’ve been out of sorts for the past week and I’ve been concerned. Must say I wasn’t expecting this, though. I have to give you points for creativity, Chancellor.”

“You need to get out of here, Iggy,” Gladio said, voice shaking.

“Why?” Ardyn asked, beaming, “we’re just becoming friends. I must say, you are quite the diplomat, Ignis.”

“Thank you. Now, I believe there was discussion of an exchange?”

“Iggy!” Gladio pleaded.

“Gladio, you’re falling apart, and Noctis needs you at your best. Things are getting worse out there - you know it as well as I do. Chancellor, you are prepared to honor your offer?”

Ardyn was beaming, “Yes, all terms exactly as discussed. I believe you heard everything?”

“I did. Very well. Gladio, give me the sandals.”

“Iggy!”

“We’ll get through this. Let me do this for you - we need your strength.”

“No!” Gladio held tight to the sandals, desperate to make sure they never ended up on Ignis’ feet.

“Can I help?” Ardyn offered. 

Ignis said nothing, but looked apologetically to Gladio, then gave Ardyn a brief nod. Ardyn smirked.

“IG-HAAHAHA” Gladio started to shout but was interrupted as the sandals on his feet kicked directly up to full power and shot a tidal wave of ticklish energy through him. His iron grip on the sandals loosened instantly and he dropped them to the ground. In an instant, Ignis dove to where they had fallen and grabbed them, dashing away while Gladio fell to the ground in helpless laughter. It was the thousand tongues this time - the one that Gladio had come to hate the most of the different ways the sandals tickled him - just a few minutes with them strapped to his feet was enough to make him dizzy.

Ignis, meanwhile, had sat down on the ground and pulled his shoes and socks off, revealing his slender, well cared-for feet. Without a moment of hesitation, he slid his right foot into one of the black sandals and secured it. He did the other right after, then stood up to face Ardyn. Ardyn waved his hand and Gladio’s laughter subsided, replaced with the sound of him gasping for air. He slowly moved to his hands and knees, then stood up, feeling helpless as he saw the sandals strapped to Ignis’ feet.

“No…” he half-whispered, despondent.

“All right, Chancellor, we’ve fulfilled our end of the deal. Let Gladio go.”

“I beg your pardon?” Ardyn asked, unable to keep a smirk from crossing his face. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Ignis.”

“What?” Gladio and Ignis both said in unison.

“Look at his feet - those are the sandals, aren’t they?” Gladio bellowed.

“Yes, he’s definitely wearing the sandals, but you didn’t put them on him, did you, Gladiolus?”

“Huh?” Gladio asked, baffled. Ignis sighed heavily after a moment.

“You understand, Ignis,” Ardyn said, sinister victory in every word.

“He said that you had to put the sandals on my feet,” Ignis said, exasperated. “I put them on myself, so the deal…”

“Oh come on!” Gladio thundered at Ardyn.

“I was willing to make the deal. Your friend Ignis is the one who gave himself away. Too bad, really. Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m afraid that I have to be up in a few hours to take my car into the shop. Have fun, you two!” he said as he started to turn away. Both Gladio and Ignis started to chase him, but he gave a flick of one arm, and in seconds, the two were on the ground, both rolling in helpless laughter as the magic sandals cast their tickling spells over the boys’ feet. Gladio was somewhat used to it, but Ignis was caught completely off guard and was soon wheezing with laughter. Gladio tried moving towards him to try and pull one of the sandals off of Ignis, but not only was it just as stuck as his own were, but Ignis was also kicking in unpredictable directions and nearly hit Gladio in the teeth a couple of times. Ignis saw what Gladio was trying to do and tried to do the same, but all it ended up doing was causing the tickling to worsen for the two of them.

“Oh, one more thing!” Ardyn’s voice sounded from somewhere nearby, “I’ll be in touch in a couple weeks and we’ll see what we can do about getting some of these sandals for your two traveling companions. Byeeee!” And then he was gone.

As Gladio and Ignis looked at each other through waves of forced laughter, it quickly became clear just how deeply in trouble they were. The tickling lasted for the better part of an hour, before the two finally collapsed in an exhausted heap.

“Iggy…” Gladio panted. He’d never heard Ignis laugh like that - it was sort of terrifying in its own way.

“It’s…it’s all right. I’m all right,” Ignis said. “We’ll…we’ll get through this. I have no idea how, but we will.”

“I hope so,” Gladio said as the sandals worked their magic one last time and started walking the two boys back to the campground.


	3. Chapter 3

With his current level of exhaustion, it took Gladio almost all he had to make it through the next few days while still keeping the secret of his predicament from Noctis and Prompto. In some ways, it was comforting to have someone to talk about it with now that Ignis was similarly trapped in magic sandals of his own, but it was a small comfort since the two of them were still unable to escape their nightly tickling. Ignis was undoubtedly strong, but the fact that he didn’t quite possess Gladio’s level of stamina meant that he began to fade much more quickly than Gladio had as days went by.

The two had agreed to keep their situation secret from Noctis and Prompto for their own safety, even despite the fact that Ardyn had pretty much told them directly that they were next on his target list. For all they knew, Ardyn would just respond by going after them faster, and they had things that they needed to do, including finding the rest of the Royal Arms. However, even beyond Gladio and Ignis being stuck as Ardyn’s tickle toys, the group was starting to get exhausted from the search and all the fighting, so it was agreed in the car one day that before moving on to the next part of their adventure, a few days of real rest were in order. The hunting had been good lately and they had some spare cash, so the group decided to take a mini-vacation at Galdin Quay. After making a brief stop at Hammerhead to get some minor fixes and upgrades made to the car, they took off south and were soon descending the hill towards the resort.

“Ahhh, this is more like it,” Prompto said, opening his window and sticking his head out to smell the salt air. Even with all they had been through, all four of the boys felt themselves begin to unclench as they drew nearer and nearer to the parking lot. Amazingly, the spot closest to the pier was open once again - it seemed that every time they visited Galdin, they had the best luck with parking. Hopping out, all four began to stretch and shake out their limbs before heading down the walkway, passing the item shop, and heading for the inn and restaurant.

“Where do you suppose we’re going to end up going for our…nightly event?” Ignis whispered to Gladio once Noctis and Prompto had run ahead and were out of earshot.

“I hope it’s down by where we used to camp,” Gladio said, “we get into that water and we’re in trouble.”

“Ardyn is cruel, but I don’t think he wants us to drown - I’ll bet you’re right. We’ll have to be discreet about making our exits since there’s only one way off the pier. It’ll have to look natural so that we don’t arouse suspicion.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Well…” Ignis said, rubbing his chin in thought for a few moments before turning back to Gladio with a bit of a smirk on his face, “what would two young men be sneaking off to a darkened beach to do in the middle of the night?”

Gladio processed this for a couple seconds then started smirking as well. “So…to keep one secret, we’re gonna let another one out?”

“I don’t think we have any choice,” Ignis said. “Anyway, there’s a chance that the others already know.”

“Are you kidding?” Gladio laughed, vocal cords slightly raspy from all the forced laughing he’d been doing for the past two weeks. “Noct is too tired to remember his own name, and Prompto’s so busy taking pictures that he forgets the three of us are here. I’d be amazed if they suspect anything.”

“We have to get these sandals off,” Ignis said, unable to stop himself from laughing at least a bit at Gladio’s assessment. “Those two are helpless without us, aren’t they?”

“They sure are,” Gladio said, putting an arm around Ignis’ waist as they joined the others at the restaurant. Prompto and Noct had already grabbed a table overlooking the water and had their heads buried in the menus, going over all of the seafood offerings available.

After lunch, the four checked into the inn and went to their room to settle in. They decided to stay for three nights and paid cash up front for the full time. Noctis and Prompto went off towards the bait shop to pick up some new fishing equipment while Gladio and Ignis remained behind in the room.

“Some blessed peace and quiet,” Ignis said, laying back in one of the room’s reclining chairs, one leg crossed over the other. Gladio was sprawled out on one of the beds near him.

“We should probably take the bed closer to the door,” Gladio suggested.

“Good thought,” Ignis said. Just to check, Ignis reached down and tried pulling one of the sandals off. True to form, it didn’t budge, and Ignis couldn’t even get a good grip on any of the straps to try and undo them. Sighing, he leaned back, resigned.

“Why do you suppose Ardyn would do something like this? This is weird, even for him,” Gladio asked.

“Yes, but he seems to delight in being unpredictable, and this certainly isn’t anything that any of us planned for. I suppose things could…”

“No, don’t finish that sentence,” Gladio interrupted, “we can’t take any chances that it might get worse.”

“I never thought you were the type to give in to superstition,” Ignis said, smirking.

“Not taking any chances - been through enough with this already.”

“Hmm, that’s fair,” Ignis said. “So,” he added after a few moments, “how should the two of us start our rest and relaxation?”

“I think I might have an idea,” Gladio said, raising an eyebrow and beckoning Ignis over. Ignis moved from the chair to the bed in a single, fluid motion, laying next to Gladio and leaning in for a single kiss. And then another. And then a third after that.

The two were just beginning to get lost each other when the sound of the door being unlocked shook them quickly back to reality. In his surprise, Gladio started, lost his balance, and fell onto the floor behind the bed with a loud thud, just as the door started to open. Prompto and Noctis walked into the room to find Ignis laying on the bed, looking very comfortable and browsing on his phone, and a slightly frazzled Gladio standing up from behind the bed.

“What are you doing?” Noctis asked.

“I, uh…” Gladio stammered a bit, looking to Ignis for help.

“There’s an uneven floor board on that side - mind your step. Already tripped me up once today.”

“Oh…okay,” Noctis said, coming into the room, clearly uninterested in pursuing the topic further.

“You okay, big guy?” Prompto asked, following Noctis in and shutting the door.

“Yeah, just…wasn’t expecting it,” Gladio said, straightening his clothes. “How were things outside?”

“Sunny and awesome!” Prompto said, beaming. “Guy at the bait shop was really nice.”

“Royal discount?” Gladio asked,

“Nah, I was good. I know you don’t like me trying to do that - no drawing attention to ourselves and all that.”

“Good man,” Gladio said.

“Oh, but we did find these!” Prompto said, lifting up one of his legs and showing off a black sandal just like the ones that Gladio and Ignis had on, wiggling his toes a bit as he did. Immediately, Gladio and Ignis felt the temperature in the room drop about ten degrees. They looked from Prompto’s feet to each other, saying nothing. Ignis shook his head as slightly as he could, desperately signaling Gladio not to react.

“You’ve been holding out on us, you two,” Prompto continued, bouncing up and down a couple of times in his new sandals, “these are, like, super comfy.”

“Yeah, thanks a lot,” Noctis said. The two looked over to Noctis, sitting in a chair with one leg crossed over the other. Sure enough, he also had a pair of the black sandals strapped on his feet.

“Where…did you get those?” Ignis asked, spending a lot of effort to keep his voice level.

“The shop right down at the end of the pier - they’ve a bit of a surf-shop thing going on along with the usual items. Turned out they only had two pairs left and they were in our sizes!” Noctis answered.

“I know! Perfect, huh?” Prompto chimed in.

“Perfect…” both Gladio and Ignis said in exasperated unison.

“Welp, we just came to drop some of this stuff off. We’re going fishing! Wanna come?”

“Er, no,” Ignis said, “I think I’m just going to rest for a while.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do the same,” Gladio agreed.

“Suit yourselves, see you at dinner!” Prompto said, turning towards the door. Noctis got up and followed him out.

Once the slap of their sandals had vanished from earshot beyond the door, Gladio and Ignis looked to each other.

“Let’s not panic, Gladio. It’s possible it was just a coincidence.”

“You really think there’s any way that wasn’t Ardyn down there? You know he can transform himself to look like other people.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that it was him at the shop. These sandals are popular - I’ve seen at least five men wearing them just since we’ve been here at Galdin.”

“I…” Gladio said, starting to argue before pausing, “…well, yeah, I saw them too. All right, I won't panic yet, but we should still go and investigate,” he added, and Ignis nodded in agreement. The two left the room and walked quickly through the restaurant and onto the pier. Off in the distance, they could see Prompto and Noctis running along the beach, headed towards the fishing spot.

“I hope they’re okay,” Gladio said.

“Best not to worry until we know there legitimately is something to worry about,” Ignis said, calmingly. “Now how should we deal with this salesperson, knowing full well that there’s a chance he’s just an unfortunate innocent in all this?”

“I don’t think we can take any chances,” Gladio answered, “if it is Ardyn, he’s either going to do everything he can to stay in disguise or just come out and mock us for getting away with it while we weren’t looking. How about good-cop, bad-cop?”

“And which one would that make me?”

“I think I’m better at bad cop, but if you want to, I can try being the nice guy.”

“Oh, I’ll be good cop - play to your strengths, Gladio.” Gladio couldn’t help but laugh a bit at that last remark. It was one of the first real, un-forced laughs that he’d had in weeks. It felt good, even through his raspy and ravaged throat. They neared the shop and paused.

“Ready?” Ignis asked, adjusting his glasses and slicking his hair back.

“Yeah,” Gladio said, and the two rounded the corner of the building to approach the window. The man standing behind the counter couldn’t have been more than twenty, with a thin attempt at a mustache on his upper lip. He looked a little exhausted but to be in fair spirits. Behind him, the two could see a selection of tacky-looking souvenir t-shirts, board shorts, and other beach-type clothing on display next to the usual potions, foodstuffs, and other wares. There were a couple shoeboxes scattered here and there with pictures of sandals just like the ones that Prompto and Noctis were now wearing.

“Hello there, what can I do for you?” the salesman asked, voice slightly thin and squeaky.

“Good afternoon,” Ignis said, “some friends of ours said that they’d found some comfortable footwear here.”

“Oh yeah,” the salesman said, smiling and walking over to where the shoeboxes were on the shelf. “We have some great sandals in stock right now - they’ve been pretty popular.”

“They said that you said you were out and that they got the last two…” Gladio said, flatly, and yet in a way that was dripping with accusation. The salesman clearly felt it.

“Oh…um…” he said, trying to meet Gladio’s stone gaze. “That…that was just…”

“Just what?” Gladio said, voice still cold.

“It’s…just a sales tactic - tell people that we’re running out of stock and they usually are more likely to buy. Sorry, it’s just something my boss told me to do.”

Gladio pounded the countertop, “Come on! I know it’s you!”

The kid collapsed and hid under the counter, emitting a throaty, scared squeak as he did.

“I’M SORRY!” he squeaked, “If…if your friends aren’t happy, I’ll give them their money back. Please, don’t hurt me!”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary…they seem to be enjoying them. They seem rather…stuck on them,” Ignis said.

“They just better not be TOO stuck on them,” Gladio growled. Ignis looked over the counter and saw the salesman curled up in a ball on the floor, shaking. He studied him for a few seconds more before stepping back.

“I don’t think he’s our man,” Ignis said to the still-growling Gladio. “Come on, let’s go,” he said, tapping Gladio on his shoulder. The two turned to leave just as a breeze blew in and ruffled the curtain covering the lower half of the curtain. From his position on the floor, the salesman was able to look through the ruffling curtain and see two pairs of sandals just like the ones he was selling walking away from his shop.

Fear turning to indignity, he got to his feet and shouted after them. “HEY! If you already had your own, what was all that about?” He looked down at the counter and started to put some things back in place after Gladio’s pounding fist had rattled them around. He noticed that a packet of breath mints was no longer anywhere to be seen. “And don’t think I don’t know that you took those mints!”

“Sorry!” Ignis called back.

“Not sorry!” Gladio followed, popping a mint into his mouth and smirking.

A few more moments passed as the two returned to the quay and their room, looking to return to enjoying each other as they had been before the false alarm with Noctis and Prompto.

“Sorry…” the salesman said, grumbling while getting his shop back in shape, “you’re not sorry for anything.” Then, slowly, the illusion began to fade, and a few moments later, Ardyn stood alone in the little shop, smirking and adjusting his hat. “But you will be.” Snickering to himself, he stepped out of the shop, pulled the shade down over the window so that a small sign with “CLOSED” on it became visible. He walked away from the shop and back towards a weathered-looking black truck. As it had with himself, the illusion quickly fell away, revealing his red sports car. He hopped into the driver’s seat, put it into gear, and took off up the road towards the mainland, cackling as he did. 

The afternoon passed in relative calm. Ignis and Gladio spent most of it in each other’s arms and soon fell asleep for a long and peaceful afternoon nap. Prompto and Noctis didn’t leave the fishing pier the entire afternoon, except to pick up some snacks at the bait shop. The fishing wasn’t the best that Noctis had ever had, but it was good enough to keep them entertained while they reminisced about the trip so far.

“I can’t believe they actually agreed to this whole vacation thing,” Prompto said, stretching his arms overhead and legs out over the water as they sat on the edge of the dock.

“Yeah, it’s not like them, especially Gladio. Then again, those two have been looking pretty wiped the last few days.”

“You noticed it too, huh? What do you think’s going on?”

“I don’t know - things seem to be going okay. Haven’t fought anything too tough.”

“Maybe they’re sneaking away for a little…alone time…after dark?” Prompto said, his voice carrying a teasing tone as he raised one eyebrow.

“Heh, certainly possible. Like they think we don’t know about them.”

“I know, right? They aren’t as good at keeping secrets as they think they are,” Prompto said with a laugh. “Hey, you think they know about us?”

“I don’t think so. Unlike them, WE are good at keeping secrets,” Noctis said as he leaned over to take Prompto’s hand in his own.

“We probably should tell them at some point - just for the sake of the mission or whatever.”

Noctis considered that for a moment. “When they tell us, we can tell them - might make it easier. Heh, I think Gladio’s a little embarrassed.”

“Poor guy - tired, stuck on a do-or-die mission, in love with one of his teammates.”

“Hey, I’m tired, stuck on a do-or-die mission, and in love with my teammates,” Noctis said, pretending to be insulted.

“Yeah, but you’re ALWAYS tired,” Prompto said, pulling the brim of Noctis’ hat down over his face.

“Hey!” Noctis said, nearly losing grip of his fishing rod. Switching it to one hand, he reached over and tried to ruffle Prompto’s hair.

“Hey!” Prompto yelped, trying to dodge away. The two continued to fall over each other for a few moments before settling back in to their comfortable perch at the end of the dock. Prompto leaned over and rested his head on Noctis’ shoulder.

“This is nice,” he said, after a long silence.

“Yeah,” Noctis agreed, as the two settled in for the rest of the long and relaxing afternoon.

***

The four regrouped in the restaurant just as the sun just beginning to set. At a table for four overlooking the water, they enjoyed a hearty dinner together and all seemed to be more at ease than any of them had been in a long time.

“This was a great idea,” Prompto said, patting his stomach once he was completely stuffed, leaning back in his chair as he did. “So what do we do now?”

“Dessert?” Noctis suggested, savoring the last few bites of fish on his plate.

“After that,” Prompto said, laughing.

“Well I think we’re going to call it an early night,” Ignis said, nodding to Gladio, who was wiping his mouth with his napkin.

“Ohoooo…” Prompto said with a smirk, “you two need a little…alone time?” Gladio started slightly and started coughing into his napkin. Ignis slapped him on the back to help him out before turning back to Prompto.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Ignis said, unable to keep the slightest smile from his face as he spoke. “What we need is rest, and you two do as well. Don’t stay out too late, and stay close to the lit areas. We don’t need you two torn in half by one of those gigantic crabs down on the far beach.”

“Oh yeah, down by where we used to camp when we couldn’t afford this place?” Noctis asked.

“We still can’t afford this place,” Gladio said, pushing his plate away with his napkin set on top of it.

“Wait, we’re going to dine and dash?” Prompto asked, feeling suddenly guilty ordering one of the most expensive menu items.

“We’re fine,” Ignis said, “just make sure you take full advantage of the chance to rest. That’s what we’re paying for, first and foremost.”

“All right, all right,” Noctis said, starting to get up from the table. Prompto joined him and the two walked back towards the beach. Ignis and Gladio remained at the table, waiting to pay the check.

“How long you figure we have before…” Gladio didn’t finish the question but just nodded down to his and Ignis’ feet.

“Probably at least a few hours - I think we should get some sleep. We’ll have to be ready to leave quietly once those two are in the room with us.”

“Think we might have time for at least…a little something before we get to sleep?” Gladio asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Possibly,” Ignis said, smiling. The check came, they paid, and then retired to their room, making sure to lock the door behind them.

***

Out on the beach, Noctis and Prompto continued walking down the beach, well away from the pier. Prompto remembered a secluded section that was out of sight of the pier, but still close enough to be safe from the monsters roaming the beach. They reached it just as the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the stars began to come into view. They found the spot, just around one of the corners on the cliff, and sat down on the sand. Prompto leaned his head against Noctis’ shoulder and the two sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the water and the stars. After a while, their hands started to find their way around each other, and the two slipped into an embrace and a deep kiss right on the beach. They enjoyed each other, losing all track of time.

***

Over in the room, Ignis and Gladio were doing very much the same thing. They continued for a good long time, then slowly drifted off to sleep in each others’ arms, suddenly not caring if the others found out about them.

***

Prompto and Noctis’ were still caught up in each other when Prompto suddenly stopped and stood up, a confused look on his face that Noctis could see even in the dim light.

“What’s going on?” Noctis asked, sitting up on the sand. “Everything all right?”

“I…I’m not doing this…” Prompto said, confusion suffusing his voice. He then turned around and started walking down the beach, further away from the quay. “Hey!” he shouted as he walked.

“Where are you…” Noctis didn’t finish the question because he suddenly felt his own body getting up and starting to walk after Prompto. “What the hell?” Noctis asked out, trying to stop and finding that he couldn’t.

“Noct! I’m not doing this! My body’s moving on its own!”

“Yeah, mine’s doing it too.” They both tried to fight it, but nothing seemed to be working. Noctis even tried point-warping and found that his power wasn’t working. In the distance, the two could see the end of the beach drawing nearer. To the left, a number of hulking black shadows were milling around, and to the right, an elevated plot of land covered in runes rose up out of the ground.

“Try to get to the campsite!” Noctis called out in a half-whisper, not wanting to alert the crabs to their presence. He and Prompto continued to walk on, unknowingly controlled by the sandals on their feet. To their relief, their attempts to move towards the haven of the campsite seemed to work, and they soon found themselves standing on the platform, overlooking the ocean, and the giant crabs in between. They were intimidating, but as long as they didn’t leave the haven, the boys were protected.

“What the hell is going on?” Noctis asked.

“I don’t know…could it be…” his voice was cut off by a sudden laugh. Noctis looked on in confusion as suddenly, Prompto’s look of confusion changed into an uncontrolled laugh. Within moments, Prompto had fallen to the ground and was rolling around in a laughing fit.

“What’s so funny?” Noctis asked, now even more confused than ever.

“It…” Prompto tried to gasp out between laughing gasps. “It’s…my feet. Something’s tickling them and I…” he fell back into more laughter.

“Your feet? But there’s nothing…” Noctis started to say, looking at Prompto’s feet, before Noctis’ own sandals launched their own attack on his helpless feet. Within moments, he was on the ground with Prompto, rolling and wailing with wild laugher. Noctis felt an onslaught of ticklish sensations on his soles, feeling like they were somehow coming out of the soles of his sandals. He reached down and tried to pull one off, but the sandal wouldn’t budge. As he tried harder, the tickling became more intense, until he couldn’t concentrate anymore and fell back in a helpless laughing heap. Prompto saw what he was trying to do and tried to summon the strength to help, pulling on Noctis’ other sandal. It didn’t budge, and soon Prompto felt his own tickle attack intensifying. Their laugher soon ran silent, pushed beyond the point where they could maintain any sort of focus. The tickling continued until, after nearly a half-hour, the two finally fell unconscious atop the campsite.

***

In the hotel room, Ignis and Gladio were both awakened by ticklish sensations on their feet at the same time. Within moments, the two were laughing helplessly on the bed. The two had grown adjusted to being tickled a bit, to the point where they were able to keep their focus better than Noctis or Prompto could - though they weren’t aware of that fact just yet.

“Wh…wh…where are they?” Gladio managed to get out between laughs.

“They…they must have…” Ignis started to reply, his sandals executing a particularly devastating attack under Ignis’ long toes. “They must have…fallen asleep out there…”

“We…we gotta…” Gladio tried to say, doing whatever he could to resist the assault on his arches that his sandals were unleashing.

“No…we…” Ignis tried to reply before falling back in roaring laughter. It took the better part of a minute before he was able to speak again. “We can’t go…out there…like this…”

“But…” Gladio tried to interrupt.

“They’ll…be okay…” Ignis said before succumbing fully to his torture. He rolled onto his stomach and scream-laughed into a pillow. Gladio soon joined him. The two endured another full hour of tickling before the sensations finally subsided. Both were completely exhausted. Gladio tried to summon the strength to stand.

“Don’t,” Ignis said, panting. “We are in no condition to fight, there are more daemons out there now, and those two can take care of themselves.”

“Unless those sandals they’re wearing are tickle torturing them like ours are.”

“All we can do is hope that’s not the case. Now come on, come to bed.”

Despite his desire to go and find Noctis, as was his duty, Gladio knew that Ignis was right. Slipping into the bed next to Ignis, the two shared a fatigued kiss goodnight and fell into exhausted slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

Sleeping directly on the rocky platform above the beach wasn’t exactly comfortable for Noctis and Prompto, but their sheer exhaustion had led them to get a full night’s sleep all the same. Both woke with their bodies feeling stiff and sore, both from the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements and from the ordeal they’d had to endure the previous night.

“Wh…where are we?” Noctis asked as his vision began to focus for the first time. The giant crabs had dispersed and were nowhere to be seen. He looked around to try and get his bearings, and things clicked into place when he finally saw the sail-like rooftop of Galdin Quay off in the distance. Bit by bit, memories of the previous night began to return to him. He maneuvered himself into a seated position, and a groggy Prompto soon followed him, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

“Unnngggghhh…” was all that Prompto managed to get out. The two just sat in silence for a few moments, with only the sounds of the gulls and the waves filling the air. The two were each trying to process what they thought had happened the previous night. Looking back now, it all seemed like a confused, impossible blur. Each in their own time, the their gazes moved from the sea to the platform, to each other, and eventually down to their legs. The sandals were still firmly strapped to their feet, but there were no tickling sensations coming from them now.

“Did…did that actually happen?” Prompto finally asked, looking back up to Noctis, who was still studiously studying his own sandaled feet, wiggling and flexing his toes as he did.

“I…don’t know,” Noctis said, voice hoarse. “My abs hurt like hell - might be…” he trailed off on the thought. “What do you think happened last night?”

“What do YOU think happened?” Prompto asked, voice weary.

“I asked you first.”

Prompto sighed heavily. “Fine. We…we were out…over there, I think,” he said, pointing to the hidden corner in the cliffs that had indeed been their original destination. “We were doing…stuff…” Prompto said, a bit embarrassed to even talk about the things they had intentionally gotten up to the previous night, before the sandals started working their magic. “Then…it was like I couldn’t control my own body. Something made me get up and start walking over here to the haven. I think it was…” he trailed off and looked down at his feet. Something in his head was making him scared to even say the word ‘sandals’ - as if doing so might activate them and force him to endure more tickling. He just nodded at them instead. “Then, when they let me stop moving, I was here, and then they started doing something to my feet. I don’t know what it was, but it tickled like crazy and I couldn’t make it stop.”

“Okay, yeah,” Noctis said, nodding in agreement, “that’s…I think that’s what actually happened. What the hell is up with these sandals?” He reached down and tried to pull one off of his foot, but it refused to budge. After he made a few attempts, a strange feeling came over him, and the next time he tried to reach down to try and pull one off of his foot, it was like his body wouldn’t even let his hand reach his foot. He tried and tried, but nothing worked. “What the hell?” he asked, “Let me try one of yours.” Timidly, Prompto held his foot out to Noctis, and Noct was able to lay his hands on Prompto’s sandal, but he couldn’t pull it off. After a couple tries, he gave up and tried to let Prompto go. This time, however, it was the exact opposite problem - he found that suddenly, he couldn’t let go of Prompto’s foot.

“What the…” Noct said, trying to get his hands to release, and yanking Prompto’s foot around in a few odd directions as he did.

“Hey, careful there, buddy! I don’t think it’s coming off - might as well let it go.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do…” he said, shaking Prompto’s foot in his hands.

“What do you mean?” Prompto asked, looking even more confused and a little scared. This was a whole new kind of weird for both of them.

“I can’t…” Noct started to say, only to have one of his hands suddenly release and be free for a couple seconds, before reaching back towards Prompto’s foot. His fingers were now turned upward, and he slid them right between the sole of the sandal and Prompto’s arch. As Noct watched in absolute bewilderment, his hand started tickling Prompto’s foot, drawing weary laughter from his best friend as he tried to pull his foot out of the prince’s hands.

“Noct! Stoppit! What a-ha-hare you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything!” Noct responded, sounding a little scared, “My hand’s moving on its own!” Fully under the control of his sandals, Noct unwillingly tickled Prompto’s foot for another minute or so, switching from his arch to tickling under his toes about halfway through, before his hands finally released them and Prompto scurried away, putting a few feet of distance between them as he tried to catch his breath.

“Prompto, I’m so sorry - that wasn’t me!” Noct said, still looking slightly aghast at what his body had done without his control. He had been completely helpless to stop it.

“It’s…it’s okay…” Prompty said, panting. “I think it was the same thing as last night. Maybe…maybe that’s like a self-defense thing they do?”

“This is so messed up,” Noct said, flopping onto his back and looking up at the morning sky. Over in his spot, Prompto did the same. The two lay in silence for a while longer, until Prompto once again broke the silence.

“Oh crap…”

“What?” Noct asked, immediately sitting up and looking over to make sure that his best friend was all right. He seemed to be, though he was clearly worn out.

“Do you remember when we went back to the room yesterday after buying these?”

“Yeah?”

“Well I thought I was seeing things, but when we first showed them to Iggy and Gladio, they looked…upset. Like for some reason, they weren’t happy that we’d bought them.”

Noct thought about it for a moment. “Yeah…” he said, slowly and calmly, “I remember that, but I figured it was just because they didn’t like us spending money on non-essentials. You know how protective they are of our bank account.” He paused for a second. “Then again…wait, have you seen either Gladio or Iggy take their sandals off since they got them? I mean, like, ever?”

Prompto considered the question, and the color began to drain from his face a bit more. “No, I don’t think I have. And Gladio’s been really tired for the last, what, month?”

“And Iggy for the last few weeks…” Noct added. The two reached the same conclusion at the same time - all four of them were now prisoners to some weird magic sandals that could control their bodies and tickle them mercilessly.

“We’ve got to get back there,” Noct said, getting carefully to his feet, softly setting his feet down on the rock, feeling some of the same anxiousness that Prompto was feeling - that even a slight misstep might start up the tickling again. He leaned back and forth from foot to foot - nothing happened. He put a hand out to Prompto and helped him up, and very carefully, the two started walking back across the beach toward Galdin Quay.

***

Despite the worry that the two had been feeling when exhaustion had knocked them out the previous night, the soft feather beds of the Galdin Quay inn had provided Gladio and Ignis with an unexpectedly good night’s sleep. The two were comfortably in each other’s arms until well after the sun had come up. Gladio, by far the earlier riser of the two, was still the first one to return to consciousness. His eyes opened and he found a soundly-sleeping Ignis inches away from him. Even with the potential danger of their two missing companions returning to the forefront of his mind, he summoned enough willpower to enjoy the peace for just a moment longer.

Something must have tensed in his musculature, however, because only moments after he awoke, Ignis’ eyes were fluttering open as well, looking up at Gladio’s smiling face. “Mmmm…morning,” he said, face breaking into just the slightest smile. It was clear that despite their current trouble, he was enjoying the moment as well.

“We’ve gotta go find them,” Gladio said.

“We will…in a few minutes,” Ignis said, nuzzling in closer to Gladio, who was too pleased to object. They enjoyed another couple moments in silence before starting to shift towards getting out of bed. With some expediency, the two washed up and got dressed for the day. The peace and quiet of the surrounding area was enough to temper the worst of their nerves. Just as they were heading for the door to their room, it suddenly opened - nearly knocking Ignis over. Gladio caught him at the last second, helping him stay standing as Noctis and Prompto rushed into the room and slammed the door behind them.

“Guys? I think we got a problem,” Prompto said, sitting down in one of the room’s overstuffed chairs. Noctis sat down on Ignis and Gladio’s unmade bed.

“Where have you been?” Gladio asked.

“Out on the beach - we tried to come back last night, but…” Noctis started to explain, though he wasn’t quite sure how to approach the explanation. “But…uh…lemme ask you - has anything…weird…been happening for you two for like, the last few weeks?”

“You mean like us being tricked into wearing enchanted sandals that are tickling us every night, making it impossible to effectively continue our mission?” Ignis asked in his usual matter-of-fact candor.

“Um…yeah…like that,” Noctis said, and Prompto nodded in agreement.

“Then the answer is yes,” Ignis said. He and Gladio explained the whole story of what they had been subjected to over the past weeks and how Ardyn had been behind the whole thing. Prompto and Noctis told their story as well, even including the part about what the two of them had gone out to the beach to do. It seemed pointless to try and conceal it further. Gladio and Ignis came clean about their situation as well, and the subject was quickly left behind as they turned their thoughts to what they were going to do now. All four agreed that they were going to have to try and find Ardyn again and do whatever they had to get themselves free of their portable prisons. There were no readily-available ideas of exactly how they were going to do that, though.

Just as they were starting to run out of thoughts to discuss, there was a knock at the door. The group looked around at each other, but all four of them seemed unsure of who this might have been.

“Who is it?” Gladio called out.

“Room service!” came a man’s voice from the other side of the door.

Everyone looked at each other once more - nobody seemed to have placed an order. Cautiously, Gladio got up and walked over to open the door. On the other side was a young-ish looking man in a Galdin Quay employee uniform, pushing a large cart covered in a white tablecloth and a number of dishes. “Good morning, sir,” he said, “I have your breakfast for the room right here.”

“We didn’t order any breakfast,” Gladio said.

“It’s included with your room fee, sir - since we didn’t see you at the restaurant for the breakfast service, our standard service is to bring the breakfast to you.” Gladio narrowed his eyes, looking the server over, but he seemed earnest enough.

“Gladio, I smell waffles!” Prompto said, excitedly. “Let the guy in!”

Gladio paused a moment later, but then he stepped back and allowed the door to open fully. The young man pushed the cart inside the room and towards the small dining area. All four of them followed him over, the smell of waffles, bacon, and fresh-squeezed orange juice lightening the mood significantly. Smiling and silent, the attendant started laying out plates and silverware at the table with practiced motions.

“Hey, I think you’ve got an extra set there,” Gladio said, noticing that the attendant was setting out five places at the table. “There’s only four of us.”

“Oh, the last one’s for me,” said the attendant, his voice suddenly completely different and instantly recognizable. As he looked up to survey the surprised group, they were all aghast to see Ardyn’s smiling face as the uniform melted away, replaced by his usual overcoat and clothing. He reached underneath the cart and pulled out his old hat, placing it jauntily on his head. “Figured I’d treat my friends to breakfast - you all seem to be having a tough time enjoying your vacation, so I thought I’d stop by and surprise you all.”

“Why you…” Noct said, starting to get to his feet and lunge at Ardyn, but Gladio stuck a hand out and caught him.

“Wait,” Gladio said, “let’s hear what he has to say. We can’t fight him right now.” Noct growled, but he stopped advancing.

“That’s very good advice, Gladiolus - if I have to send the four of you into fits of unwilling laughter right here, you might knock over the trolley, and they did set it up so nicely. Would be a shame to waste such an extravagant meal, don’t you think? Please, dig in - I swear that there’s nothing wrong with it.” Wordlessly, the four made their way to the table and sat down. Ardyn moved the last of the serving plates over and everyone started dishing breakfast out for themselves. The food was excellent, but it was suddenly more difficult for any of the four boys to enjoy it. As such, they ate in silence for several minutes.

“Well there’s no need to be so reticent, boys - we’re on vacation! Tell me what you all have been getting up to? Doing any fishing, Noct?” Noct didn’t answer, opting to instead take a particularly vicious bite of scrambled eggs.

“If it’s all the same to you, Chancellor, I think that we would rather hear what you have to say,” Ignis suggested, “I assume that you have something to tell us now that we’re all…incapacitated.”

“No need to be so formal, Ignis, but very well. It’s actually good news!”

“For you or for us?” Prompto asked. Ardyn laughed at that.

“Heh, for you, gentlemen. I’ve decided that I’m going to release the hold that your new sandals have on you.” That grabbed the attention of everyone at the table. All eating stopped as the group looked to Ardyn.

“What’s the catch?” Gladio asked after a moment’s pause.

“No catch. I told you before, Gladiolus, I was just doing this for a bit of fun, and to slow you down from killing all my best daemons. Now, I’ve almost built my forces back up to compensate for what you’ve destroyed, as well as to ensure that I have ample support for the next phase of my plan. So you’ll soon be able to free your feet from your sandals.”

“How soon is ‘soon’?” Ignis asked.

“Well let’s see…” Ardyn said, reaching his arm out and pulling his sleeve back to reveal a well-worn wristwatch. “It’s eleven thirty now, so I’d say…yes, almost exactly two weeks from this moment.”

“TWO WEEKS?!” the four shouted in unison.

“Two weeks,” Ardyn said, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin and getting to his feet. “Two more weeks of this fun, and then I’ll release the spell that’s binding the sandals to your feet. And to show that there’s no hard feelings about any of this, I’ll even let you keep both the sandals and what I’ve been using to control them - and you. Who knows, if you four are clever enough, maybe you’ll end up with me as your tickle toy for a change. I look forward to it. Until then, I’ll give you fair warning that things are going to get a bit more…intense. Well, I must be off - lots of work to do!” He started moving for the door. The four started to get up, but Ardyn put a hand out. “Don’t try to follow me - you know as well as I do that I won’t let you get far. Have fun on the rest of your vacation - byeee!” Ardyn walked out the door with one last wave and let it shut behind him.

The four sat at the table in stunned silence for a moment longer.

“DAMMIT!” Noct finally shouted, slamming his fist on the table and rattling all the plates and glasses. Ignis’ glass of orange juice nearly tipped over, but Ignis caught it just in time.

“Two weeks…” Prompto whispered to himself, his own voice also hoarse and raspy after a night of uncontrollable laughter. “I don’t think I can survive that.”

“Prompto, I’ve been dealing with this for a month - you can handle two weeks,” Gladio growled. Prompto responded with an exasperated whimper.

“Iggy? How about you?” Noctis asked.

“A little more than two weeks already,” Ignis said, staring at the table, deep in thought.

“How?”

“How what?”

“How have you two been able to keep going? Prompto and I have only had to deal with this for one night and we’re completely drained.” Noct sounded weary as he spoke.

“The first few nights were the worst,” Ignis answered, slowly and methodically. “You don’t ever really get used to it - the sandals change up the way they work from time to time, but you do start to adapt.”

“Any tips, big guy?” Prompto asked, hoping that the Shield would know some way to make the tickle torture less overwhelming.

Gladio said nothing for a few seconds, looking down at his sandaled feet, then he looked over to Ignis. Finally, with a look that was almost apologetic, he looked back to Prompto and Noctis. He sighed heavily.

“Don’t fight it.”

Silence filled the room as Prompto and Noctis looked from Gladio to Ignis, who silently nodded in agreement, and then back to Gladio.

“What?” Noctis finally asked.

“Noct, believe me, I’ve tried everything since I’ve had these damn things stuck on me. They can’t be stopped. And the more you try to resist them, the more exhausted you get. I hate saying this, but the only way I’ve been able to make it this far is by saving what little bits of energy I can that the sandals aren’t already forcing out of me.”

“He’s right,” Ignis added, “and now that we know, thanks to you two, that the sandals could also force us to tickle each other if we don’t do whatever Ardyn makes us do, it could drive a wedge between us if we’re not careful. I think the only way we’re going to be able to get out of this and have the strength to carry on once we’re free is…to submit.”

The room went silent again as everyone processed this. Though everyone wanted to disagree and come up with a brilliant escape plan, they all concluded that there was none to be had. Ardyn had won this round, and until he decided to let them go, they were all his sandaled tickle slaves.

“So what now?” Gladio asked.

“Well unfortunately, we can’t afford to stay here for two weeks - we barely have enough to cover another night or so. I think our best shot will be to get somewhere isolated but safe and ride it out. Noct, you said that the sandals took you and Prompto out to the haven down the other end of the beach?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Noctis said, taking a slice of bacon and mindlessly gnawing on it.

“Well I think that might be our best bet. I don’t want to chance driving the Regalia, knowing that we could come under attack from our footwear at any point since Ardyn’s decided to…escalate matters. We should set up our campsite down there and ride out the next two weeks. We can sleep during the day and prepare for whatever Ardyn has in store for us. Noct, you and Prompto can take care of food supplies by doing some fishing. We can keep sharp by training on the beach with those crabs and other creatures. And if Ardyn keeps his word - which I’m cautiously sure that he will - then we can finally move past this.”

None of them were happy about the arrangement, but they all agreed that it was the most practical approach. They started packing up their things, getting ready to move down the beach and start setting up camp. They had set things up often enough that it didn’t take them particularly long to cart all the gear over from the parking lot and put the campsite together. Ironically, the sandals were actually the best footwear for crossing the beach, and they had camp up and running by mid-afternoon. Noct and Prompto went to fish for everyone’s dinner off the end of the dock, while Ignis and Gladio remained at the campsite, each relaxing in a chair and reading a book. The sun began to sink behind the horizon when Noctis and Prompto returned to the campsite with a healthy batch of sizable fish in tow. Ignis set to work making dinner and served it up within the hour. It was excellent, as usual, but it did little to ease the fear that was setting in for the four boys.

“So…” Prompto started to say, “any idea what we might be in for?”

“I’d rather not think about it - it’ll happen when it happens,” Ignis said. “We’ll survive this - it’s just going to be very unpleasant for a while.”

The four finished the meal in anxious silence. The sun sank behind the horizon and the four began to clean up and lock down the camp, knowing that the sandals had another horrible night of tickling ready for them. With things stored and secured, the four returned to their seats around the campfire.

And waited.


End file.
